The Cucco or the Egg?
by GarnetVengeance
Summary: The story of the first cucco Link ever cared for. He raised it from an egg... surely he wouldn't abandon it once Zelda's letter took it's place in his pouch?


Opening Notes: This came to me last night… and seeing as how I'm getting little to no work done on my Master Sword fic, I figured I needed SOMETHING to vent my anticipatory fangirlish energy, until Twilight Princess supplied me with ENOUGH fangirlish energy to work on the other. XD

Disclaimer: Don't own. If I did, IT would come with the Wii, not some freaking sports game. - -"

* * *

"Take this letter with you. I'm sure it shall be of some help." The princess said, scribbling something down on a parchment before handing it to the Kokiri child.

Link nodded, taking the parchment as the princess continued.

"Together, I'm sure we can save Hyrule! Do you best, Link!" She flashed him a smile.

Link nodded again, "I will." He said softly, before offering a small smile in return, and turned, pausing as he saw a particularly vicious looking woman in the exit of the garden.

"You are a brave lad." She said as the youth walked up to her. "I am Impa, caretaker to the princess." She paused, before continuing, "The princess is special. I believe her dream is the truth." Her eyes flicked to the girl as she continued to spy on the Gerudo king. "Come." She said, motioning for Link to follow, "I shall escort you outside the castle. It would be trouble if the guards were to find you."

Link nodded, and followed the Sheikah docilely, the letter still clasped in his hand, and still a little awed by the responsibility placed upon his shoulders.

"You courageous lad." She began, gazing about the field, "We must protect this beautiful land of Hyrule." She turned to him. "Do you see that mountain? At its foot lies my village, Kakariko. You can get to Death Mountain from there, where the Spiritual Stone of Fire is held by the Gorons. It's about a days journey away, but be sure to talk to some of the villagers when you reach the village. They may be able to offer you some aid."

"Right." Link said, nodding and gazing at the mountain in question, before hearing a sharp 'SNAP' behind him. Turning, startled, he gazed about, but so no one. The Sheikah was gone.

"Well, I guess we'd better get started, eh Link?" The fairy flitting about his head offered, tiny bells jingling in her voice.

"Right you are, Navi." Link said, sighed, before pulling one of his pouches open to put the letter away. It would do him no good if a keese stole it.

Oh, crap.

"What's the matter, Link?" Navi chimed gently, seeing the look on his face.

"I don't have enough room." Link sighed, reaching into the pouch and pulling out a Cucco, who clucked in annoyance, "At least with this in there." He shoved the letter into the now-empty pouch.

"But Link, it's a letter! Surely it can't take up that much space?" Navi argued.

"Well, it does." Link groaned as the cucco began to flap irritably, "What'll we do with this?" He wondered out loud, holding the bird at arms length.

"We could set it free." Navi offered, following behind the boy as he began his journey.

"But Malon gave this to me! We can't just set it free to be eaten by a moblin!" Link protested.

"Well, what else can we do?" Navi sighed.

"We'll just have to think of something." Link said, wincing as the bird scratched at his arms.

They continued onward, Link figuring out that holding the bird above his head – though troublesome – was the best way to avoid having his eyes scratched out.

"Link…" Navi began from her place ahead of the boy, her usual place having been taken over by the bird, "We should set up camp. If we don't get a fire up before nightfall, the monsters will come and eat you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Link sighed, setting the bird down and ruefully massaging his shoulders. Pulling out some Deku sticks, he methodically placed them in a pile, before taking one and rubbing it with another, continuing until smoke began to rise from the small pile. Blowing on the sparks, he threw some grass on the pile until a small blaze began, and added sticks until it grew to a fair sized one.

"There we go." He said, rising. He grinned at the fairy, pleased with his work. He looked around, blinking, before his long ears nearly drooped. "Where'd the cucco go?"

"Um… I guess it wandered off." The fairy offered lamely.

"Aw, maaaaaan." Link groaned, picking up his sword and shield and heading to the top of a nearby hill. Seeing a white spot in the distance, he ran after it, yelling at the fairy to watch the campsite. The sun was setting – it was a good thing Link was fast on his feet.

He returned, scratched and dirty, but triumphant, barely in time before the wolfo's began to howl, announcing the beginning of Night's reign.

"Just in time, Link!" Navi cheered, flitting about the boy's head.

"Yeah, no thanks to this thing." He jutted his head in the direction of the bird, scowling.

"Maybe you should just let it go…?" Navi offered again.

"I can't! I'd feel horrible if I had to tell Malon I just let her cucco go off into the field! You know it won't survive!" He sighed, plopping down on the ground, the bird still in his hands.

"Yeah, but…" Navi drooped, resuming her place on his hat.

Link sighed, placing his head on his hand, watching – no _way_ was he letting that bird out of his sight _now_ – as the cucco made its way around the campsite, eating little bugs along the way.

_What to do, what to do…_ He wondered. He couldn't sleep with it here- it would just wander off. And there was no longer any room for it in his pouches…

His stomach began to rumble.

And now he was hungry. Could this get _any more annoying?

* * *

_

"I CAN'T BELIEVE you did that, Link." Navi chimed indignantly as Link packed up camp the next day.

"What?" Link asked, blinking.

"You ATE Malon's CUCCO!" She cried, whacking him over the head. "And after all that fuss you made over it getting eaten by some random monster!"

"Well, I wouldn't want to have to tell Malon it'd gotten eaten by a monster… at least this way it served a purpose." He replied, rubbing his head.

"You're a horrible person, Link." The fairy sniffed, flitting ahead of the boy, even her vapour trail radiating anger.

"It was tasty, though…" The Kokiri muttered, following after the fairy.

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Side Quest: Cucco in a bottle  
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"Mmm… Cucco." Link said, leaning over the fence, watching the singular cucco hop around the pen.

"Do you like cuccos?" Said the lady beside the pen, smiling at the boy.

"Yeah, you could say that." He grinned.

"Well, in that case, could you do me a favour?" She asked, placing her hands before her beseechingly.

Link blinked, "Sure, I guess."

"My cuccos have escaped. Could you maybe go find them for me? I'm allergic, so…" She sighed, "But I can give you something good as a reward."

"Sure, I guess I could." Link said, shrugging. Impa HAD said to interact with the villagers.

"Thank you! There are seven in total. Off you go!" She shooed him away.

"Bet you wish you had that cucco NOW. You could masquerade it as one of hers." Navi sniffed.

"Meh. It was better than being hungry." He shrugged, before jogging ahead in the general direction of clucking.

Some time later, he returned, dragging the last unwilling bird behind him. He was covered in scratches and peck marks, but he had found them ALL.

_This'd better be a good reward…_ He thought irritably. How the hell had that one managed to get inside a BOX?!

"Thank you!" The lady exclaimed, "I'm allergic to cuccos, so I get goose bumps when I touch them… But here's your reward! It's made of fine glass, so I'm sure it will be useful." She handed him the bottle.

Link's eyebrow twitched. _Goose bumps?! That's IT?! That's not an allergy!_ He took the bottle from the lady, thanking her automatically. _A BOTTLE?! Who gives an EMPTY BOTTLE as a reward?!_

He trudged off in the direction of the gate, deciding then and there that anyone who raised cuccos was crazy.

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End  
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Closing Notes: And there you have it. I like the idea, but not the endings… in the first part, I wanted to end it before the break, but then I thought people might not get it… and the second part's ending's just lame. XD Ah, well. Hope you enjoyed it.

Oh! Since I doubt anyone will catch it unless I point it out -- "Seeing a **_white spot_** in the distance…"

Ahahahahaaaa. I love puns. And foreshadowing, in a way. XD

Review!


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